The Fey
by NightElfCrawler
Summary: Trip down Memory Lane. An archived story I'm bringing back. Yet Another Xelloss' past AU.
1. Chapter 1

**The Fey  
><strong>

**Chapter 1: Treasure, Books, and Dust**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, character death  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>"FIREBALL!"<p>

As if on command, the resisting rocks and boulders that blocked the passage jumped aside at an instant, creating a nice convenient passageway for the four travelers who stood outside.

"Well, that's that!" Came a cheery voice, and the four individuals entered the dark maw with a ball of light to lead them forward. The leader stood tall for her small height and carried with her an air of confidence and strength which the other three obviously did not hold.

"Ano... Lina-san, are you sure that this was the right place? This hardly seems like a rich mansion vault..." Came a timid voice from a short girl in white.

"Hai hai hai, positive!" Came the chipper reply from the girl in front.  
>"It was a SECRET vault, so it's likely to be hidden somewhere now isn't it."<p>

"Um... But there isn't any mansion around here..." Came the blunt reply from the tall blonde man with the sword.

"Zip it." Came the curt reply.

Zelgadis Graywords simply rolled his eyes in silence, taking in the dark roughly carved out interior of the cave. However odd it might sound, he had to agree with Gourry on this... this hardly seemed like the right place... But who was about to argue with their fiery headed guide.

The foursome rounded a dim corner, and found themselves face to face in front of a rather small stone carved plain door. It had no symbols, but had a single character of a man carved on the door as a relief.  
>"Hmph..." Lina said as she stepped up and pushed on the door. "This must be the place." She stepped back and the other three took several cautious steps back as she broke the door open with another spell. Once the dust had settled, they slowly crawled through the rubble into the small chamber that had been uncovered.<p>

They found themselves in a small very conical and narrow chamber, whose walls rose high up beyond their vision. A single ladder on wheels stretched up as high, and the entirety of the walls were covered in books. Books as tall as they could see... Hundreds upon hundreds of books. There were piles of books stacked precariously on the floor several people's height tall, books on the tables, and books on ledges.

"Great... A library..." Lina said in a low grumbling voice. "Just what we need." She screwed her eyes shut and jumped up and down in a fit.  
>"WHERE'S THE TREASURE?"<p>

Zelgadis was over inspecting the many dusty books on the table, and Amelia was spending some time peering at the ones in the shelves. "I don't know Lina, didn't someone say that a book was the greatest treasure in the world?" Gourry was peering at the library as high as his vision would go. "And there's a lot here!"

Lina only threw him an annoyed glance and sighed, going over to a portion to take a glimpse at some of the titles.

"Hmm.." Amelia trailed a finger down the row on the shelf. "'How to build a dream fortress with no money'... 'Magic for the less talented'... 'The Historians Guide to the World'..."

Zelgadis was sliding through a stack of books on the table with slight interest. "Hmm... This is interesting..." He mused, with a smile on his face. "'The Politically Correct History Pre-Revolution'...  
>'History of the Ryuzoku'... 'History of the Mazoku'... 'History of the Fey'..." He blinked and frowned. "The Fey?"<p>

Lina turned. "Huh?" She walked over to stand beside him as he pulled the book out, brushing off it's dusty old cover. "What are the Fey?"

"I don't know..." He said, then opened the book, turning it's yellowed pages carefully. "The Fey..." He began reading on the first page.  
>"Little is known about this mysterious race of people, only that their kind was an enigma on the world..." He glanced over at Lina. "Have you ever heard of this?"<p>

She shook her head, and by now the other two had joined them. "Oh...  
>maybe it's a lost race of people!" Amelia said enthusiastically. "What else does it say?"<p>

Zelgadis continued. "...their power surpassing anything possessed by mortals on the earth. They are the mysterious race, known by other names such as the Shadow People, The Faery Folk, The Cursed, The Bastard Race,  
>and the Trickster Kind..." He glanced over at Lina, who merely shrugged again. He turned back to the text. "They are all but forgotten in today's society, their kind having been wiped out in what is known today as the 'War of the Monster's Fall'."<p>

"That explains it." Lina said crossing her arms. "But this is so weird,  
>I've never heard of a fourth race..."<p>

"It does seem odd..." He said quietly, then glanced back to the book.  
>"It says here that they were wiped out back then during the war, and the name of the war was originally the War of the Fey, but they changed it later to make it more... Well, they don't say." He frowned. "It also says that the war was a combined effort of the Mazoku, Ryuzoku, and Humans to eliminate their kind..."<p>

"How horrid!" Amelia said with wide eyes. "To kill an entire race?"

"They must have been really evil or something." Gourry stated scratching his head.

"Actually..." Zelgadis ran a finger down the text, using his demon speed to read fast. "It appears they were a neutral people... They apparently were created from all three races, an equal blend of Mazoku,  
>Ryuzoku, and Human..."<p>

Lina blinked. "Good god... Who'd mate with any of them to make something like that?"

"Oh I dunno... If she were really OOOF..." Gourry was silenced as an elbow made contact with his gut.

Zel grimaced and glanced back down. "The book really doesn't say much about their origins... It seems to say that it was a mystery. 'They had tremendous power however, being able to channel from all three sources, Black magic, White magic, and Shamanistic magic, with powers derived from both Mazoku and Ryuzoku.'" Zel shook his head. "Seems like they were powerful."

Lina took the book from him and flipped through it, then paused at a point. "Hmm... but it seems that they weren't well liked by any of the races..."

Amelia scratched her head. "But were they evil?"

Lina shrugged. "Doesn't really say..." She shut the book. "Let's take this with us." She glanced around. "Anything else? Or should we go?"

They shrugged and as they all seemed to agree, they departed the room.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Fey**

**Chapter 2: Discovery, Evasion, and Confusion**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, character death  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>"Itteitteitte!" The hot potato went flying into Zelgadis' lap, and he calmly picked it up and handed it back to Lina, who continued tossing it between her hands. "Geeze, how can you handle that thing so easily?" She blew on her hands to cool them. Zel merely smiled quietly.<p>

The group was camped out underneath the bright stars of the night sky,  
>calmly relaxing after a long week's travel. They were within a few day's journey of the sea port on the border of the Demon Sea, their destination. They had heard rumors that there was some sort of reward contest going on for the select few contestants who were willing to go out in exploration of the sea. Naturally, this had sparked Lina's interest.<p>

"So..." Amelia said leaning back and staring up at the stars. "What do you think lies ahead of us in this town we're going to?"

Lina shrugged, leaning back on the damp grass herself. "Who knows. It's bound to be an adventure though."

"Mm..."

Zelgadis had finished his meal, and was stretching out on the grass. He pulled out something from his satchel which caught Lina's attention.  
>"Oi, any luck on that book there?"<p>

He shrugged. "It has fascinating information in it actually."

She half sat up. "What've you found out?"

He looked thoughtful. "Well, apparently the reason the war started was because the other races feared the growing numbers of the Fey. Since they had superior power and abilities, the three races combined forces to wipe them out entirely... And apparently they were known to be the wily mischievous type, and so they didn't have many friends, but many enemies." He shrugged. "It was a power struggle... They just ended up on the wrong end I guess."

Lina looked thoughtful. "That's too bad really..." Suddenly she looked up. "Wait, you know I'll bet Xelloss could tell us about it. Wasn't he in that war?"

As if on cue, a dark form appeared out of nowhere. "Someone called?" He said brightly, the everlasting smile still stuck on his face.

Zelgadis rolled his eyes in a stifled groan while Lina looked up at the Priest, not entirely surprised that he'd appeared. He'd been trailing them again for some time now, and she had no idea what was in his mind this time. "Yes... Actually we were talking about you. You were in the War of the Monsters Fall right?"

The Mazoku sat himself down on the grass, taking a potato on the end of his staff and munching on it idly. "Hai."

"Then maybe you can answer these questions we've had." He peered at her curiously as she reached to snatch the book from Zelgadis. "We found this book in a library a few weeks ago, and we've been having debates and questions ever since."

He peered forward as if to look at the book, and she held it away from him protectively. "What actually happened during the War of the Monsters Fall?" She asked carefully, knowing if she was to ask him about the lost race that she should do so carefully, since the book had noted that each race had disowned the Fey from ever having existed.

He cocked his head. "Well... It was an epic battle..." He said putting a thoughtful gloved hand to his chin. "Heavy losses on both sides really."

"Who were you actually fighting?" Lina pressed.

Xelloss seemed to hesitate almost, and turned his head back to her. "Why the Monsters of course! Hence the name!"

"Don't play with me Xelloss..." She warned shaking the book at him.  
>"We've learned some very interesting things about that war."<p>

For the first time since they'd met him, Xelloss seemed slightly nervous and fidgety. "Oh? Such as?"

Lina leaned forward peering at him with slitted grinning eyes. "Well,  
>such as the existence of a fourth race."<p>

At that, there was a visible tension on his face, and his eyes slid open slowly, regarding her warily. "Oh?"

By now, she'd figured out that this subject obviously was causing great distress on him, and she wasn't about to loose the fish caught on her hook. "Yeah. So, why don't you tell us the truth, eh?"

Xelloss' gaze slid to the fire, and his deep purple eyes stared blankly into the flames emotionlessly, but very thoughtfully. After a long period of silence, his voice spoke soft and low. "Lina-san... It's best for you that you never mention the fourth race again."

The tone of his voice hadn't been threatening, but rather deeply warning, as if telling them that it was to their best interest to stay out of it. "What do you mean?"

He closed his eyes... not the type of closed they were used to, but an actual serious close. "Trust me on this... any talk or involvement in research of the fourth race will lead you to trouble."

Zelgadis frowned. "What are you hiding this time?" He said in a low voice.

"It's a fair warning." He stated plainly in a flat voice. But then, he turned his face towards Lina with his eyes open and showing their purple depths. What she saw reflected there... it startled her. Fear was written in his eyes. Genuine heartfelt fear. "Never mention them...never... they are a dead race."

She held his gaze for a moment before he stood up and vanished suddenly as he'd come... They all were silent for some time, thinking to themselves about his words.

Zelgadis spoke up first. "Che, I think he enjoys this."

"I don't know...he seemed serious." Amelia mused.

"What do you think Lina?" Gourry asked seeing the strange look on her face.

She glanced up. "He's scared." She stated softly. "I saw it in his eyes.  
>He was terrified..." She closed her eyes in thought while the others exchanged glances. "I think there's more to this than there might first seem..."<p> 


	3. Chapter 3

**The Fey**

**Chapter 3: Vagueness, Lies, and Torture**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>"Come in." The door slid open slowly and the individual stepped into the room closing it behind him. "Come here." Came the sharp command. The order was obeyed. "I hear that there was an interesting discussion today." She mused pulling a long drag on her cigarette. "Tell me about it."<p>

"It was nothing."

She smiled coldly. "Now, I know if there was something serious you would tell me." Her fangs gleamed slightly in the light. "Otherwise, you know what will happen to you my dearest pet."

"It was nothing."

A cruel smile lit her face, and she made a small gesture. Two large guards came up beside the individual and pinned his arms behind his back, painfully so. "Nothing eh?" She blew a puff in his face directly.  
>"Some humans know. I don't call that nothing."<p>

"They will forget about it."

She stood up slowly, and walked over to him, gently putting her hand beneath his chin and lifting it up. "Hmm? Will they?" she released him and strode casually around the room slowly. "They say that a small seed can sprout overnight into a large flower..." She stopped directly behind him and emptied her ash on top of his head. "And this seed is a very potent one."

He said nothing.

A cold smile flashed across her lips, and she pressed her lit cigarette into his neck with slow deliberacy, taking pleasure in the smell of burning flesh and the stifled wince that he held back. "Mmmm... I think your time may be running out dearest." She gestured curtly, and the individual was led out firmly. "And now the fun begins."


	4. Chapter 4

**The Fey**

**Chapter 4: Manipulation, Trepidation, and Accusations**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>The city was bustling as was typical of major port towns. There were numerous venders and dealers lining the streets as they made their way into town. The bright colors and loud sounds of music filled the air with the merryness of a festival. The four companions made their way through the melee, into the harbor area. They paused there to take in the large view of the ocean spreading out beneath them like a vast expanse of oblivion.<p>

"My my..." Lina murmured in half awe. "That's a rare sight."

They'd finished their journey to the shore, and it had only taken them an entirety of two weeks, with some stopovers that had caused them delay en-route. Most of the way their thoughts had been filled with Xelloss'  
>warnings... And questions about why the Trickster hadn't showed up since then. It was odd, and also a puzzle they had wish to solve.<p>

The group made their way to the information stand of the contest rules,  
>and obtained some information about it, then retired to a tavern to talk it over. The contest went as follows. There were many unexplored areas offshore that many ships desired to go to. However, there was many risky things to deal with, from sea serpents, to lost triangles. Therefore,<br>any warriors, magic-users, and mercenaries were being asked to go and aide the ships in their quest. The prize for being the first ship back with information and actual evidence of existing new territories, got 100,000 in gold. That was enough to spur them on.

And so the four explorers rapidly ate their four course meal and boarded their ship to set sail for the undiscovered countries... For a price...

The sea was calm and peaceful as they set out, but as the days went by,  
>the voyage became more and more choppy... Sure enough, on the fifth day out of port, they woke to find the skies overcast with a greenish yellow hue, and whitecaps frothing over the railing of the ship.<br>Unfortunately... This only made Zelgadis greener than he already was.

Lina peered ahead into the thick yellowish fog, a deep frown on her face. "This is very strange..." she muttered to herself.

Gourry came up beside her. "What's wrong Lina?"

She sighed. "This isn't a natural storm... I have a very negative feeling..."

He scratched his head. "You think it's magical?"

"Perhaps."

He shrugged. "So what's the worst that can happen out here?" He gestured around. "There's nothing to crash on."

Lina sweatdropped. "Well, no, but we could sink and drown you know."

"Oh... right..."

Sure enough, to her suspicions, the wind began to pick up, and from there forward the ride became extremely rough. The boat rocked up and down more than they'd thought possible, and the skies threatened with thunder and flickers of lightning. The captain was out on deck and pacing to and fro worriedly. Lina approached him. "Oi, what's going on?"

He glanced at her worriedly. "No idea Lina-san... this storm is unlike any I've seen before, and I've been on the open ocean all 45 years of my life." He looked worried as he stroked his beard. "This isn't natural,  
>I'll tell you that."<p>

Lina frowned worriedly, then a voice cried out suddenly. "Land ho!" and she scurried to the side with the others to peer through the yellow fog.

Sure enough, there was land dead ahead, and what seemed to be a port as well. "We're in luck!" The captain cried out. "Prepare to dock!" He called out, and the shipmates scurried about their way.

However, Lina still remained doubtful, with a wary look on her face.  
>"What's wrong Lina-san." Amelia piped up worriedly. "You look worried."<p>

"Well... Isn't this all just a bit too convenient?" She asked quietly.  
>"I mean, first this strange fog, then a port appearing in the middle of nowhere..."<p>

"You're right..." Zelgadis added quietly from the side. "It is suspicious."

The ship meanwhile had docked by the wooden pier, and there was no one about in sight as they began to exit the ship. The weird fog still hung shroudingly about, and the minute that Lina set foot on the dock, she got a very bad vibration down her spine. "I don't like this..." She muttered to herself.

Suddenly, through the still silent air, a piercing scream of agony and anguish bit through the surrounding area, but still from a distance, as if whoever was in pain was far away... They looked around with worry and sudden fear on their faces at that... Lina exchanged glances with the other three, and their eyes reflected their worry equally. "This is just too weird... let's get out of here."

Amelia glanced back into the fog as the other three began to head back to the ship. "Wait Lina-san. Shouldn't we see who is in trouble?" Her eyes were worried, but shone true with justice. "It would be wrong to leave someone like that!"

Lina exchanged glances with Zelgadis and Gourry, then glanced at the captain and crew who were off towards the shore looking around.  
>"Well... We're not leaving anytime soon..." She said quietly. "I suppose we should check it out...after all, there might be a reward!"<br>Everyone sweatdropped.

"Right! Let's go then!" Amelia exclaimed and shot up into the air with a ray wing casting.

Lina sighed and shrugged, then grabbed Gourry and followed, with Zelgadis in the rear. They flew over the trees through the fog, keeping low to be able to see where they were going. Before long however, they burst out of the fog and the trees, to see a volcano rising high above them, but apparently dormant, as there was an enormous palace built atop the peak of it... but what a sight it was. The entire palace was black, with jagged spikes and towers that were angular and sharp... It was a very foreboding sight, despite the bright sunshine that poured down making the green emerald grass shine out on the hillside. They landed, to get their bearings on the surrounding countryside, and do some thinking. Lina scratched her head. "This place gives me the creeps..." As she was about to continue, another shrill pain filled scream that sent shivers of terror down their spines ripped forth from the castle once again. Loud and filled with the emotions of one in complete agony and merciless torture...

They looked at each other, and wordlessly began to hike up the mountainside, keeping low against the craggy rocks that dotted the incline. They reached the top, and peered forward to the foreboding gates that rose high and spiked into the sky. There standing at the gate was a gigantic pair of wolves, their fur as black as night and their eyes slitted yellow gold... The gateway had an enormous relief carved on it in gold, of a wolf and written below it...

"Juu-ou-sama..." Lina muttered under her breath. "Welcome to Wolf Pack Island..."

There was complete silence for a long while, then Gourry scratched his head. "Who's Ju-ou-sama?"

There was twitching slightly as the three others facefaulted, then Lina jumped up and throttled Gourry across the head. "Jellyfish brains! The BEASTMASTER! Greater Beast Zelas Metallium, only one of the five Dark Lords!" She hissed in a low voice to avoid detection from the keen ears of the wolves. "You idiot."

He rubbed his head. "Oh..."

"How are we going to get in, and DO we want to get in?" Zelgadis asked quietly.

Amelia looked upwards at the foreboding structure. "We have to help that person in pain..."

"You do realize that we'd probably be in worse danger if we went up there, and also... Remember that we were brought here under odd circumstances..." He reminded her gently. "The Beastmaster may be expecting us..."

Lina scratched her chin thoughtfully. "Yes... That's possible, but why?  
>What does he want with us?" Zel shrugged wordlessly in response, and Lina sighed. "Well, we've come this far." She grinned. "Might as well go all the way." And with that she crept up towards the structure cautiously hugging the rocks.<p>

Zel's eyes nearly bugged out of his head. "Are you nuts? You're just going to walk right up there?" He hissed in a low voice, but she was already standing and walking straight for the wolf guards boldly. The other three sweatdropped, but grudgingly followed her.

Lina strode straight up to the two wolves, all the while with a smile on her face to match their dangerous growls and sharp teeth. "Hi there! My companions and I would like an audience with Ju-ou if it's not too much trouble."

The two wolves eyed her with some surprise at her boldness, and then began laughing outright. "You're a brave one, human." One said in a low gravely voice. "Who are you?"

"Lina Inverse, the powerful and beautiful sorceress." She stated with a bold smirk.

They once again seemed slightly surprised. "Oh, she's expecting you."  
>The other wolf said in a lighter voice than the other. "Follow me." And with that the wolf turned and began walking across the bridge over the deep ravine bordering the palace. Lina strode strongly after it, and the other three cautiously followed, their eyes watching the other wolf, who regarded them with a slight smirk and a hungry gleam in it's eyes.<br>Needless to say, they walked quicker to catch up with Lina.

They entered the front gate, through the dark ominous entryway into the palace, and through the blood red velvet carpeted hall to a room with double doors that stood high closed before them. The wolf stopped outside and turned to Lina. "You may enter."

Lina went up and slowly pushed the door open, and the others followed her as she boldly stepped forward into the large chamber. There before them was a luxurious velvet couch surrounded by foods and wines, and seated upon the couch, a slender dark skinned lady with pale hair,  
>smoking a long cigarette in a holder casually. In her other hand she held a slender delicate wine glass filled with deep red wine. She smiled, and that smile was enough to send shivers down their spines, and gestured with a gold bangled hand for them to approach. "Welcome to my domain Lina Inverse." She said in a silken voice. "I hope I am not inconveniencing you by inviting you here?" Her slender eyebrow raised in question, that implied it to be in agreement with her.<p>

Lina stepped up to the bottom of the stairs and folded her arms. "What do you want with us Ju-ou?" She asked boldly, her eyes locked on the Beastmaster's own.

Ju-ou looked slightly impressed at her show of boldness, and sat up, her white gauzy silk sliding around her body and moving like liquid. "Direct aren't we?"

Lina simply smiled. "I tend to get to the point quickly."

"Hmm, so I've noticed." She stood up, her slender high spikes clicking as she walked down the stairs. "Xelloss has told me quite a bit about you, I should have expected you to be exactly as he described you." She held out a hand in invitation of peace.

Lina warily shook hands with her. "Xelloss? You know him?"

The Beastmaster laughed almost merrily. "Know him? Of course I do, I'm his mistress." She smiled in amusement.

Zel clenched his hand tightly behind Lina. "So... you're the one he works for..."

She turned her calm gaze to him. "Yes." A cruel smile lit her face. "And I've heard quite a bit about the hot tempered chimera." She strode towards him slowly, taking a sip of her wine. "It still baffles me why you dislike my Priest so much for one simple event to which he truthfully executed with you."

This only made Zel angrier, but he hid it well. "You are biased."

"As are you." She shot back with a half smile before turning back to Lina. "You certainly do match his descriptions."

Lina frowned. "Where is Xelloss anyway? We haven't seen him for quite some time now..." She had suddenly realized this, and it made her only more suspicious.

The Beastmaster shrugged. "That is of no importance to you." She emptied her glass. "As to why you are here, I have some business to discuss with you." She smiled coldly leaving a dark stain on their impressions of her. "But that can wait, you are my guests for your duration here, and I would love the opportunity to chat with the famous Lina Inverse and company." She gestured, and a tall slender young man appeared beside her bowing slightly. "Take our guests to their chambers and make them comfortable." She smiled at them. "I will see you for supper." And with that she vanished.

The young man bowed slightly. "This way." And he led them down a hallway.

Lina in the meantime was frowning to herself. She was very suspicious of the woman, and even more so now that she had the feeling that they were being stalled or warmed up for something... As they entered their rooms and looked around the glorious apartments that were more spectacular than anything they'd seen before, her suspicions only grew more...

The four were gathered in Lina's room, sitting and discussing events.  
>"What do you think about the Beastmaster Zel?" Lina asked cautiously.<p>

"I don't trust her." He said flatly. "She's wily and cunning, and she's up to something."

Lina nodded slightly. "I agree..."

"I dunno, she doesn't seem that bad." Gourry said flopping down on the soft bed. "Look at how she's treating us! This is great! And did you see the huge bathtub back there?" He babbled excitedly. "It's bigger than my room!"

Lina rolled her eyes. "Gourry... Of course you'd think she's nice." She sighed. "How about you Amelia?"

The young princess frowned. "She seems nice, but there were those screams... And why wouldn't she tell us about Xelloss-san? She evaded your question Lina-san."

Lina blinked in slight surprise. "You're right, she did." She frowned.  
>"Hm... what are they up to?"<p>

As if to back up their suspicious, yet another scream flew through the air, painful and powerful, seeming to throb like a heartbeat through the castle walls... They all shivered. "That's it... come on." Lina stood. "I can't stand the thought of having to sleep and being woken up by something like that!" She gritted her teeth.

The others sweatdropped. "Well... her heart's straight even if her logic is flawed..." Amelia murmured.

They slowly crept out of the room, and peered around looking for anyone who might see them. Finding no one, they slowly began to walk down the hall in one direction, not sure where they were going, but knowing they had to find a down staircase. The hallway they walked down ended, and to their luck there was a staircase headed down. They cautiously made their way down, to find themselves in another layer of the castle, then another, and another as they followed the small side stairs down. Soon enough, they found themselves on a stone floor, dark and dismal. There was a thick door blocking the last floor down, and so they cautiously picked it and entered the dungeon area sure enough. "These old castles are all built alike..." Lina muttered.

They made their way into the dungeon, closing the door after them, and heard sounds from deeper in. It sounded like the Beastmaster... they crept forward in the shadows, carefully concealing themselves, and approached the far cell where the voices came from. The door was ajar,  
>and they slipped into the adjacent cell where they could hear everything clearly without being seen.<p>

"You amuse me..." She was saying. "No matter what I do to you, you never break!" A cold laugh. "How long will you last? You know, all these thousands of years, I never grow tired of playing with you my sweet."  
>Sounds of a kiss and chains rattling. "Ah, cold! I'm offended!" The sound of a whip striking someone hard. "You will learn or die, one or the other." Another hit. "Hm... well, I tire of these feats... Perhaps something more drastic my sweet?" A low cold laugh. "I know, I haven't had a certain delicacy in a long time!" The sound of a knife being drawn from a sheath. "What do you think? Will you yield, or shall I separate your valuables from you?"<p>

They heard a low throaty growl. "Screw you."

A cold hearty laugh. "Well if you wanted to, you need but ask!" But then there was a low grunting sound, followed by a slight whimper and a delighted hiss from the Beastmaster, and then silence. The four shrunk back then as the light clicking sound of her heels were heard, then the turning of a key and clanking of a door, followed by her retreating footsteps.

After a long time, they slowly stood up and crept out of the cell,  
>peering around cautiously, finding no one around. They then slowly walked to the cell next to them, to find the door was double cast iron and had no windows for the cell that seemed entirely devoid of them as well. They carefully tried picking the lock, but it proved harder than before, and so Lina was reduced to having to use magic to fry the inner workings, and twist the lock off. When it fell, Lina then carefully pushed the door open, using a lightning spell to see as they entered the pitch black room. What lay before them was a sight that froze their blood and sent shivers rolling up and down their spines...<p>

Hanging by shackled wrists cuffed in iron chains from the ceiling,  
>bloodied and scarred, hung a man barely discernible to them. Fresh blood dripped and ran down his legs and puddled onto the floor where the Beastmaster had recently done her work. Deep cuts from the whip adorned his back, arms, legs, and chest. Scars that showed how cruelly he'd been treated were around his stomach and chest where she'd slit his belly numerous times... the man's head was bowed forward in unconsciousness, his hair matted and dirty with crusted blood. The fact that it was the last person they'd expected to see, was what frightened them so much...<p>

It was Xelloss...

How they could tell from the amount of damage they didn't know, but they were certain it was him... Lina walked up to him and gently lifted his head, revealing further injuries. His face had deep scars on it,  
>showing what she'd done to him. Not only had she seemed to have broken his nose more than once, she'd done other damage like damaging his eyes.<br>Lina felt her stomach churn, and she glanced away to Amelia who was hugging Zelgadis and whimpering slightly. "Can you two heal him?" Lina asked quietly.

Zel glanced at Xelloss, feeling sick. He hated the damned Mazoku, but seeing him like this made his blood boil... "I'll try." He said in response.

Amelia nodded and immediately walked up to him and began healing, and Zel joined in soon afterwards. There was complete silence as the two worked, and Lina watched silently with Gourry standing guard at the door watchfully. How could he have gotten into his mistress' displeasure? The last time they'd seen him he seemed as jovial as always...

The two finished their healing after several long minutes, and Xelloss looked much better, having been restored and the scars gone. Zelgadis drew his sword and cut the chains with one quick swipe and Xelloss began to fall to the floor, but Amelia caught him, staggering under his deadweight. Zelgadis picked him up then and laid him down on the floor,  
>the Mazoku still unconscious. Lina knelt down beside him and shook him gently. "Oi, Xelloss... wake up..."<p>

He didn't move or make a sound for a long time, and she glanced up to see Gourry still watching carefully. She turned back to Xelloss and shook him again, and this time received a low moan and flutter of the eyelids. They were rewarded with his eyes slowly sliding open, and Lina smiled slightly down into them, then froze.

They weren't purple... They were blue...

His eyes blinked again, then focused on Lina looking forlorn and lost.  
>"L...Lina...san..." He whispered almost inaudibly.<p>

She nodded. "Yeah, it's us. What the hell happened to you?"

He opened his mouth to respond when there was a low hiss from Gourry.  
>"We better get out of here! Someone's coming!"<p>

Lina swung her head around and heard the slight clicking of the Beastmaster's heels. "Shit, ok, let's go." She stood up and glanced into the hallway with Gourry as Zelgadis tried to help Xelloss stand to his feet, with not very much success as he hung limply trying to get his feet to work.

However, by this point Gourry was ducking back into the cell as the Beastmaster approached, and Lina pressed herself against the wall,  
>Amelia joining her which only left Zelgadis with Xelloss exposed in the center of the cell as the Beastmaster rounded the corner.<p>

She strode in and stopped, a cruel smile on her mouth where the slight residue of blood was left on her lips. "Greetings once again, Lina Inverse."

Lina stepped away from the shadows behind the Beastmaster and approached her cautiously. "You knew we were coming here didn't you?"

"But of course." She smiled cruelly and glanced at Xelloss, whose gaze was locked with her own, a burning hatred in his blue depths. "I knew you'd come for my pet."

Lina exchanged glances with Zel who was just as puzzled as she, then turned back to the Beastmaster. "Why are you doing this to him? I thought he was your servant."

"Servant? No, I never said that Lina my dear." She merely smiled wider.

Lina frowned. "What are you playing at now? You just said you were his mistress."

She nodded. "Yes, I did. But he's not a servant my dear. The more proper term would be..." She glanced over at Xelloss with a feral smile. "A slave."

At that, Lina's eyes shot over to Xelloss who looked as if he wanted to tear the Beastmaster's head off with his eyes, though his face was impassive. "A slave?" Lina said slowly. "Ok, whatever. I never understood you Mazoku anyway." She turned back to the woman before her.  
>"You baited us though."<p>

"But of course. You found out information that you weren't allowed to see. I made sure that you found your way here so I could ensure that it didn't spread."

Lina frowned in confusion. "Information?" Then it dawned on her. "You mean that book."

"Precisely."

What's going on here? Lina thought with a furtive glance back to Xelloss, who looked about ready to pass out again. "What does that have to do with you? It said most don't know about them anymore, so what harm would it do?"

"Hmm... well that's just the point my dear. No one knows about them anymore. It should stay that way, else bad things are likely to happen."  
>She raised a hand towards Lina. "Sorry about this darling, but you have to die." And a bright red light began to form at the end of her palm,<br>and then it streaked toward them at lightning speed.

Lina had no time to react, nor time to duck as she saw the light headed towards her. She had time to think 'oh shit', and that was about it.  
>However, this was not the day that the famous Lina Inverse was to die on. Instantly, a brilliant light appeared around the group, and within a heartbeat's blink, they were gone.<p>

Needless to say, Zelas was NOT at all happy...


	5. Chapter 5

**The Fey**

**Chapter 5: Mysteries, Legends, and Myths**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>Lina stirred and slowly sat up, rubbing her head. The last thing she remembered was being at the Beastmater's... But obviously that's not where she was now... Her gaze swept over the surrounding countryside,<br>taking in the deep aqua lake that spread out like an ocean before them,  
>the tall deep forest green trees, and the wildflowers scattered everywhere. She slowly stood, seeing that the others were still out of it, and strode to the lake to look around. It was a spectacular view,<br>but she'd never seen anything like the tall jagged peaks that surrounded the group in the valley on all sides. They were tall, and jagged and looked virtually un-crossable, due not only to their roughness, the amount of snow, and their sharpness, but the height would be too high to just simply levitate over.

She turned back to see Zelgadis sitting up and looking around. At seeing her up, he stood and walked over to her. "Where are we?" He asked carefully taking in the scenery as well.

"I have absolutely no idea..." She answered in reply glancing around.  
>"Never seen anyplace like this before."<p>

He nodded and they sat down by the shore. "You didn't bring us here then I take it?" He asked.

She shook her head. "Not me... "

"Hmm... who did then?"

Lina glanced back to the other three, Gourry was stirring, and Amelia was sitting up, but Xelloss still lay on his side, still naked. "I doubt it would have been any of us... must have been him."

Zelgadis frowned. "I guess..."

Amelia moved over to join them, and shortly afterwards, Gourry joined them. They sat discussing theories of what had happened, yet came up with nothing. After about a half hour, Zelgadis caught movement from Xelloss' direction and they all crowded around him, Gourry discreetly using Lina's cloak to cover his midsection. His eyes fluttered slightly,  
>then opened revealing their brilliantly blue depths. He glanced from face to face hovering over him with some confusion. "Nice of you to join us in the land of the living again." Lina remarked wryly. "After we nearly got our butts killed trying to save you, you pass out."<p>

He blinked, and a slight smile tickled at his lips. "Gomen." He said softly, surprising them all by his quiet, uncharacteristic voice.

Amelia peered down at him. "Are you ok now Xelloss-san?"

He put a hand to his head and slowly sat up, still looking disoriented.  
>"Hai... I will be."<p>

The others exchanged wary glances. This was XELLOSS? Sure didn't act like him. "Oi, what happened to you?" Gourry asked scratching his head.

Xelloss raised his eyes to glance at each of them, then glanced away.  
>"I'd rather not talk about it."<p>

Lina scowled. "You better damn well give us some info, after what we went through to get your ass out of there, and saving your life!" She stuck her face close to his and he blinked back slightly startled. "So spill it or we dump you back there."

That got him. He visibly flinched, shivering at that thought. "Ok ok."  
>He said slightly exasperated, a hint of his old self showing. He glanced at their curious glances and sighed. "I was being punished." He bit his lip. "You saw for yourself."<p>

"Yeah, but for what?"

"For disobeying orders."

Lina blinked. "What'd you do?"

He avoided her gaze. "I lied to her."

They all blinked. They'd been under the impression that he'd been one of the most loyal Mazoku to their masters in the world... "About what?"  
>Lina asked.<p>

He looked slightly nervous. "Please..."

"Ok ok. Then explain this." She pinched him and pointed at his eyes.  
>"You're different."<p>

He nodded faintly. "I'm human."

It took that some time to sink in before the entire group reacted.  
>"HUMAN?" They said as one. "How'd that happen?" Zelgadis spat out incredulously, with some hidden glee in his eyes.<p>

Xelloss sighed. "It's how she punishes me... Mazoku are fairly resistant to pain and injuries. She put me in a human form to inflict more pain."

"Oh..." Lina said looking confused. "Just for lying to her? Geeze,  
>what'd you lie about?" She snorted. "Must have pissed her off royally."<p>

He flinched and glanced up, his blue eyes riveted on her. "If I had told her the truth, you'd all be dead now."

They blinked for several seconds, then Zel gripped him tightly in his stone arms, squeezing hard and making Xelloss wince. "What do you mean?"

"What I mean is..." He gritted out between his teeth. "Because I withheld information, she decided to lure you there instead of just sending someone to kill you." His eyes locked with the chimera's. "You should be thanking me, her ways of killing are long and painful."

Zelgadis scowled, but at Amelia's touch on his arm, he released Xelloss,  
>and the ex-Mazoku fell back rubbing his arms where red bruises were beginning to form.<p>

Lina's brow was furrowed in the meantime, trying to sort things out. "So it's something that is related to us... You withheld information..."  
>She glanced at him. "What information?"<p>

He shrugged lightly. "Think about it Lina-san, what would be threatening to a Mazoku Lord, if you should stumble upon it?"

Zelgadis scowled at the Trickster's games, but watched as Lina thought about that, tilting her head to the side and appearing deep in thought.  
>After some time, her ruby eyes lifted to his sapphire ones. "That book."<br>She stated. Xelloss nodded. "So that's why you were upset when I mentioned it to you two weeks ago."

He nodded again. "I knew what was to happen... in fact, I suspected it when she sent me out to you suddenly like that. She suspected you had found something you shouldn't have." He sighed. "But I'm afraid you now have several powerful enemies Lina."

She scowled. "Several? Who else besides your mistress..." She was cut off by his sharp bark.

"She is NOT my mistress!" His eyes snapped at her furiously.  
>"I'd rather die than let her use me like she did again!" He spat on the grass, his teeth grinding. "I hate her."<p>

They were taken aback by his vehemence, and stared blankly at him.  
>"Yet..." Lina stated. "You worked for her? Though she did say you were more like a slave..."<p>

"Damn right I was." He hissed. "She used me to her own needs, torturing me the entirety of my servitude, making me murder, plunder, and destroy things left and right." His eyes could have started a small fire. "I had no choice...I was her prisoner, and never would have a chance of escaping her." Then, his face seemed to change, and his eyes met hers with a flicker of something else there. "But... Lina-san... You helped me escape..."

She frowned. "Yeah...?"

A slight smile flickered across her face. "There might be hope now...  
>the seal could be broken..." He drifted off into silent thought, a distant look on his face.<p>

Lina frowned and waved a hand before his eyes, and he snapped out of it.  
>"What seal?" She questioned.<p>

He seemed to snap out of it back to his ordinary self. "Ah, nothing nothing." But he did turn his blue eyes to meet hers directly.  
>"Lina-san, would you be so kind as to do me a large favor? In return for helping me, I will pay you handsomely."<p>

Here eyes got very large very suddenly. "Pay?" Then she got a suspicious look. "Wait, how will you pay?"

He smiled secretly. "Trust me, I can give you more riches than you could even imagine Lina-san."

"I dunno, I can imagine quite a bit..."

He chuckled as the others sat there looking exasperated. "And..." He turned his head to look at Zelgadis. "I can also give you what you desire, Zel-kun."

Zelgadis' head jerked up suddenly and his eyes bit into Xelloss. "What?  
>You can do that?" He seemed incredulous and hesitant, but there was a spark of hope hidden behind the fa ade.<p>

"Yes..." Xelloss added quietly, his eyes locked on Zel's with honesty.  
>"But you may not want to."<p>

"What ever." Zel said with a wave of his had. "If you could do that,  
>then I'd be in your debt."<p>

"Hmm, we'll see." Xelloss murmured to himself, making Lina suspicious all over again.

"So what kind of favor Xelloss?" Lina asked with a slight frown.

He shifted his position, rearranging the cloak around himself. "I need your help to find some people, and then get together some items for a spell."

"What spell?"

He looked slightly uncomfortable at this. "A spell to break a ward."

That got Zel and Lina frowning. "What ward...?"

"Nothing dangerous, I assure you Lina-san..." He said quietly, locking gazes with her.

They didn't look at all convinced. "Ok, so what do we need to gather?  
>And how long is this gonna take, and will Zelas be after us?"<p>

"We need to gather some special sands and talismans, and then find five people who fit for the spell... It hopefully won't take to long,  
>because not only will Zelas be after us, but all the remaining mazoku lords and minions."<p>

They stared at him. "You're that valuable to them?" Lina said incredulously.

He lowered his face. "Yes... They can't risk having me alive...and free that is."

Gourry scratched his head. "Why do they want you dead?"

"Because... I'm a threat."

Lina frowned. "But aren't you human now? How can you be a threat to them?"

"True, I'm at my weakest stage now, but if I manage to complete the spell needed to break the ward, then they can't touch me."

Zelgadis scowled again. "And which ward is this again?"

"You'll find out soon enough."

"Like HELL we will." Zel snarled. "Spit out some answers now!"

Xelloss held his gaze evenly. "Or what?"

Zelgadis suddenly hesitated. For some reason, though Xelloss' gaze wasn't threatening in any manner, he felt his flesh tingle and warning of danger flood his body. He pulled back, staring at him with some confusion, trying to figure out why he was suddenly frightened of him.  
>"Nothing..." He muttered standing up and walking off into the trees without another word.<p>

Lina and the others watched him wordlessly, consternation on their faces as the chimera left. "What was that about?" Lina said in confusion.

"Nothing..." Xelloss stood up and looked around. "Perhaps we should think about leaving.."

Lina glanced up at him with an annoyed look. "Not like that you aren't."  
>He blinked, then glanced down at himself with a slight blush. "Here..."<br>Lina began digging through her cloak and came out with some pants and a shirt, plus a spare cloak. "Hopefully these'll fit you, they're something I picked up off a bandit." She threw them at Xelloss.

He caught the clothes, nodded in thanks, then disappeared into the bushes to changed. After some time, he emerged, dressed in the new garments. The outfit looked good on him, the black pants were similar to what he'd had before, but the loose forest green top was half open near his chest, and the deep blue cloak fluttered loosely in the breeze. He handed the other cloak back to her. "Thank you Lina-san."

Lina sized him up, then pulled out a pair of boots. "You'll need these too."

He put them on wordlessly, and by the time Zelgadis had returned, they were ready to go. "Right, where are we headed then?" Lina posed glancing around. "We don't even know where we are."

"I do." Xelloss said quietly glancing around. "We're in the center of the country, inside of the Western Mountains."

Lina blinked. "The western mountains? You're joking right? The western mountains are impossible to cross... Even through magic."

"Hai, unless one knows secrets about the area." Xelloss said with a small smile.

Lina sighed. "Ok ok, so you lead the way."

He nodded, and they headed off down by the shore of the lake. They walked along, lost in thought, when Lina saw something from across the lake that startled her. "Hey, what's that in the trees?" She pointed to where some structures were built nestled in the trees from the other side of the lake.

Xelloss nodded. "Houses... Or what used to be anyway."

"Who lived here then?"

"Long ago, this is where a great empire resided..." He said quietly.  
>"Now, it's a ghost town..." He sighed quietly. "Forgotten by all."<p>

The slayers watched the structures as they approached them, seeing how rotted and overgrown it was. They approached, and Xelloss bent down suddenly to pick something up. Lina didn't have time to see what it was though before he shoved it down his shirt. He then walked over to stand beneath a tree where several rusty swords were, and he chose one and a few daggers, then headed back to them. "Right, time to go." There was a sadness in his eyes and Lina was the only one who managed to catch it.  
>She frowned to herself as he turned into the forest, and they followed,<br>clearing the way through the thick foliage. After a hard hike, they pulled up to the beginning of the steep jagged walls of the mountains,  
>and Xelloss led them along a steep path that rimmed the canyon. It wasn't well worn, but appeared that it had been in the past... After they were high above the floor of the canyon, Xelloss paused since the thin path ended by a waterfall that plummeted down to the floor of the valley. He then quickly dove behind it, and they followed, finding themselves in a small open aired cave hidden behind the falls. At the back of the small cave was a stone door, and he walked up and pulled it open, revealing a long hall carved out of the mountain that disappeared into darkness beyond. He glanced at Lina, and she cast a lightning spell, and they started forward into the darkness, pulling the door shut behind them. They walked on in silence for hours at a time, and finally Amelia got sick of it. "So, Xelloss-san, who do you need to find to cast this spell?" She piped up.<p>

"Hmm? Well... I need to find five people, a few of which we may have already." He stated. "One who knows magic of the Black kind, one who knows White, one who knows Shamanistic, one who knows Ryuzoku magic, and one who knows Mazoku magic."

Lina blinked. "Why so many?"

"It's complicated actually..." He said slowly. "Just think of it as many keys to unlock something."

"Oh..." Amelia said slowly.

They continued on in more silence, not knowing what to speak about, not knowing what to do other than walk wordlessly after the retreating figure of Xelloss...After a long silent time, they came to a halt.  
>"What's wrong?" Lina said quietly, peering forward to see over his shoulder.<p>

Before them was an enormous cave. In the center, the floor dropped down,  
>carved into what appeared to be an auditorium. There were doors carved in each area of the wall, and Lina could count about twenty or so that led to other chambers. In the center of the floor was a symbol carved deeply into the rocks, but she couldn't make it out or understand it.<br>The ceiling rose high up, creating an airy light that poked out letting sunlight in from the outside.

Xelloss made his way into the chamber, and the others followed looking about mystically. "Whoa..." Gourry said glimpsing around. "This place is huge!" He turned about and ended getting himself dizzy.

"Which way now?" Zelgadis asked, glancing about. "They all look the same? How do we know where to go?"

"I know." Xelloss replied as he stood in the center looking around. Lina caught a whimsical look of memories on his face, and she frowned, but let it be. "Just a moment, then we'll go." He said.

They fell silent as the ex-mazoku stood in the center of the floor staring up at the ceiling, a sad look on his face. They could feel sad memories pouring out of him, and they decided to leave him be, as privacy was needed sometimes...

After several minutes, he turned. "Yosha..." And he walked straight into a doorway and they followed him down the hallway.

They wound through the passage, twisting and winding their way up and down, through thick portions, through thin. It seemed to continue on for hours on end, and they lost all sense of direction. When it seemed that it might be getting lighter and they were approaching the end, they never did. However, all things must end, and sure enough, they stopped suddenly, and Xelloss pushed something on the side of the wall, and then bright sunlight streamed into the cave area, blinding them all as a hidden boulder rolled aside. They stepped out into the light, to find themselves on a high ledge overlooking a grandiose view of the spreading valley below them. The sun was just sinking into the mountains spreading a pale orange hue about the land, and they all piled outside to breathe the fresh air, glad of being out of the stale atmosphere of the cave.

Xelloss sighed and then turned to the side and began to walk down the side of the mountain. They blinked at his sudden disappearance, and discovered that there was a set of worn shallow stairs making a kind of ladder in the side of the mountain. The only problem was, there was absolutely nothing below for several hundred feet. It was a sheer drop,  
>and just the thought of falling made their stomachs drop significantly.<br>So, Lina cast a Ray Wing, snatched Gourry, and the other two followed suit and landed on the ground. Lina stared up as Xelloss still made his way down, and shouted up at him. "Oi! Want a lift down?"

"That might be appreciated..." Came the faint reply from above. So saying, she cast a Ray Wing on him and he came floating down soon enough, and he brushed himself off gratefully afterwards. "Domo."

The others looked around their surroundings, finding nothing but an endless countryside all around them as they were at the base of the mountains. "So... now what?" Gourry asked.

All eyes fell to Xelloss who was looking thoughtful. When he didn't answer, Lina prodded him. "Oi, so tell us what's going on now. You said you have to find some people and things, so which direction?"

He snapped out of it. "Oh, yes of course..." He glanced around, then nodded westward. "There's a town there about ten miles away that should work for finding some supplies."

They shrugged and headed off down the road towards the setting sun. They finally reached the town several hours after nightfall, found an inn and settled down comfortably in rooms. Unfortunately, the inn was crowded that night, and so as a result, rooms had to be shared. Amelia and Lina took one, and the three guys took the other. Fortunately, there were some spare blankets, so Zelgadis took the opportunity to make himself a bed on the floor as Gourry claimed the bed quickly by flopping down asleep on it. Xelloss stood against the far wall, seeing no more blankets, and no other options. He sat down and leaned there with his head against his knees, his eyes closing as he sat thinking deep in thought.

Later in the night, Zelgadis happened to turn over and awake slightly enough to see the man seated in the corner of the room, his arms wrapped around his legs, shivering slightly in the cold of the chilly room.  
>Zelgadis watched him for some time, really not caring if Xelloss was comfortable or not, but the more he watched him, the more he felt something like pity well up. However, he just turned over and fell back asleep, thinking nothing more of it.<p> 


	6. Chapter 6

**The Fey**

**Chapter 6: Mazoku, Humans and Dragons (oh my!)  
><strong>

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>"Ohaaaaaaaaaayo!" Lina piped as the half asleep swordsman and the chimera joined her at the sinks. "How'd you two sleep?"<p>

"Mm… really good!" Gourry said stretching,. "That bed's comfortable."

Zelgadis snorted. "Wish I could say the same…. The floor's really hard you know."

Gourry grinned goofily. "Sorry bout that, you can have it next time."

Lina glanced around suddenly noticing they were one short. "Where's Xelloss?"

There was silence as they looked about, then Gourry scratched his head. "I think he was still asleep in the room…"

"Oh…" Lina said finishing her grooming. "Well, guess I'd better wake him up then." She walked off down the corridor then, and entered the room while the rest of the group washed their faces and did their morning business. However, the peace of the hall was broken by a shrill screech. "AMELIA! GET IN HERE QUICK!"

They three glanced worriedly at each other, then raced down the hall in their pajamas to burst into the room only to see Lina bent over Xelloss looking worried. She glanced up. "Amelia!"

Amelia knelt down and immediately saw what was wrong. His face was flushed and pale, his forehead burning to the touch and his hands were cold and clammy. She put her hands out and began muttering a healing spell as Lina glanced up. "Didn't you guys notice he was sick?"

The two looked bashful and embarrassed. "Um…sorry… I guess I fell asleep before everyone else.." Gourry said looking ashamed.

Lina glanced over at Xelloss again, then suddenly glanced at Zelgadis. "He didn't have any blankets last night did he? He just slept like this…." Zel avoided her eyes. "YOU JERK! YOU DIDN'T EVEN GIVE HIM A BLANKET?" She screamed at him in anger. "It was cold in here last night, and he slept on the floor without a blanket!" She was glaring at the chimera, who still avoided her eyes. "I don't believe you two!"

Amelia's hands fell down. "Lina-san, it isn't working…" Her voice was worried. "I've never had problems healing someone before…"

"What?" Lina bent over him again to see that nothing had changed. His face was still pinched in pain, and hot to the touch. "It doesn't work? Are you sure? Try again…" She tried again, but there was no change. Lina cast a Recovery, but the same result appeared. She glared at Zel, and he grudgingly cast a healing spell, but again no change.

They stared silently, not sure of what to do, then Amelia snapped out of it. "Come on, put him in bed!"

Gourry and Zelgadis bent down and lifted him into the bed, and Amelia set about getting some cloths and blankets, then began to tend for him. Lina watched the whole thing with a worried look on her face, and some confusion. If he'd been a mazoku, then there was a possibility that healing wouldn't work…. However, he'd said he was human now, which meant that it should… unless he wasn't completely human now, maybe a small fragment of mazoku was still in him…. She shook her head. Even so, healing should still work….

"So… what now Lina?" Gourry asked standing next to her watching Xelloss who was sleeping rather fitfully.

"I don't know…. Guess all we can do is wait and hope he recovers on his own…" She said slowly. "If healing doesn't work, there's not much we can do for him."

So saying, they all evacuated the room to go and grab some breakfast. They ordered their usual portions, and were soon emersed in enough food to feed an army for a day. The surrounding customers would occasionally glance at them strangely by the vast amounts of food they seemed to put away….. they didn't know where it all went.

When they'd finished, they relaxed and let their minds run over the recent events. "So…. What are we gonna do about the invalid?" Zelgadis asked while picking his teeth with a toothpick.

Lina just shot him an angry glare and narrowed her eyes. "You're the one to talk…."

However Gourry put a restraining hand on her shoulder. "Come on Lina, it wasn't his fault, ease up on him."

Lina leaned back, some fire dying. "Sorry… I guess my nerves are a bit frayed." She glanced over at Zel. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, I know you don't like him and all, but this whole deal…" She shook her head. "There's something wrong with it."

The others nodded in agreement. "Yeah, this entire month has just been weirder than usual." Amelia said fiddling with her teacup. "I mean…"

"Yeah…. I know." Lina said with a sigh. "I can't help wondering if somehow all of the events are related or interwoven somehow."

"How so?" Zelgadis asked quietly.

"Well, think about it…. The whole weirdness started when we found that book…. And when Xelloss showed up, he got really quiet when we mentioned it to him." Lina crossed her hands on the table and put her chin on top of them. "Then we end up by some mysterious circumstances on Wolf Pack Island, Zelas wants us dead because of that knowledge, and is torturing her most loyal of servants, who then we find out he was actually her slave….." She shook her head. "And he won't talk about it either."

"Maybe he's just shy." Gourry said.

Lina hit him across the head. "Look, he's acting weird too. Have you EVER known him to act the way he's been acting?" Her eyes bore into the surrounding group. "And now he's sick… and we can't heal him." She sighed. "Try to convince me that this is a coincidence…"

"So what's your theory then Lina?" Zel asked quietly. "What do you think the connection is?"

She looked thoughtful. "I think….. I think Xelloss knows something important that the other mazoku don't want him spilling. Then there's this deal with wards and what not….." She frowned. "Something that the mazoku lords don't want broken obviously."

"So that means that it's got to be a good and just cause!" Amelia stood up and smiled with shimmering eyes. "I knew Xelloss-san would come around in time! No one can stand against truth and justice in the end, because it's the right thing to do!"

The group sweatdropped. "Yeah, well something like that. But you can bet that if the mazoku lords are after him, that it's got to be something they're worried about, and a threat to them… which means that it might or might not be in our interest to help him achieve it."

They all pondered that information among themselves for a bit. "So…. What do you think he's trying to do?" Amelia asked finally.

Lina closed her eyes in thought and was silent for a long duration of time before answering. "I think that he's trying to unlock something related to the Fey…. Perhaps their lost power, perhaps one who might have survived the war….. something related to that."

They ran that through their heads for some time, then they heard a polite clearing of the throat from behind them, and they glanced over to see a young woman and a young man standing next to their table. The woman had long blonde hair and stunning blue eyes, and was about medium height with a soft gray dress and gray blue cloak trimmed with fur, and the man was taller, but had cyan hair that was spiked up, with a shirt that fell open to expose his chest. "Ano…" the woman said in a soft voice. "We over heard you speaking about the Fey…"

Lina eyed the couple with some wariness…. The man had stripes on either cheek, and slitted golden eyes, which made her wary of him, but the woman seemed honest and open, practically the opposite of him. "Yeah…. Why do you ask?" She replied carefully.

"Well, it's just we've not heard the name of the Fey mentioned in public, or by humans, for a…. very long time." She replied with a smile. "It drew our attention, if you know what we mean."

Lina nodded. "Yeah…." She gestured to vacant seats, and the couple sat down at the table with them. "I'm Lina Inverse." And she introduced the others at the table.

The woman smiled friendly-like. "It's a pleasure. You may call me Filia, and this is Val." The young man nodded tersely and they all nodded in response. "So… may I ask why and how you came to know of the Fey?"

Lina pondered that for a moment. Should they just tell these strangers straight out? She decided there was no point hiding the truth, as long as they were careful with how they spoke it. "Well…. Here's the thing, we found this book…." And she explained what had happened up to that date, making sure to leave out some important things that spies or agents might find useful. "And… well that's pretty much it."

Filia looked worried and stared at her hands folded in front of her with a vacant expression. It was Val who surprised them all. "So you say that this Xelloss is the one who much of this revolves around?"

Lina nodded. "He's involved somehow… the mazoku are after him, and he says that they want him dead…" The two looked thoughtful, and Lina took this opportunity to ask them a question she'd been thinking of for a bit. "How do you know about the Fey?"

The two exchanged glances, and a small smile lit Filia's face. "Well… we used to know one of them quite well, and we were part of the resistance."

The others blinked. "Resistance?"

Val smirked. "We stood up for them when others didn't."

"That's right." Filia continued. "We helped them fight, but our efforts…" She trailed off, and Val put a hand on her head in comfort. "…. Well, they're gone now…"

There was silence around the table, and then Ameila spoke up. "You must be old to have been alive back then…."

They nodded slightly. "Well, yeah I guess you could say that." Filia said quietly. "But then we're both Ryuzoku."

Their gazes fell back to the two, and it made sense to them then. "Ah, that's understandable." Lina said nodding. "Makes more sense that way."

"Wow…" Amelia said with wide eyes. "You don't even look like Ryuzoku though…" She blushed. "I mean, we've only met one before…"

Val chuckled lowly and Filia smiled brightly. "Well, we can take human forms after all…"

"So… maybe you can tell us the truth about how the war ended…." Lina said slowly. "We can't find out much from anyone."

Filia glanced at Val, who shrugged wordlessly in response. "Very well, we can help you a bit…" She closed her eyes and leaned back, and Val leaned forward with his eyes closed as well. "Basically, they were overwhelmed, and all their people were murdered in one strike of chance by a traitor it's heard….. the traitor was killed along with the rest of them, but the damage was done since the mazoku and the others penetrated the Fey home base and captured the crown prince…. Then they killed everyone it's said…." She shook her head, a look of sadness there. "We were good friends with a few of them, and had been inside on rare occasions….. the land they lived in was beautiful and pristine….. and they weren't a bad people, they were only liked to cause trouble…."

They were silent, digesting this information, when Val spoke up in his mellow voice. "It was believed however, that something important was sealed away relating to the Fey…." He glanced at them. "Perhaps that's what this Xelloss is after?"

They glanced at each other. "Sure, it's possible…" Gourry said scratching his head. "But I didn't think he was after treasure."

"It wouldn't have to be treasure, it could be power you know." Amelia added.

"Yeah, that would sound more like a mazoku…" Lina said slowly. "And if it's a lot of power, it's no wonder that the Mazoku Lords are after him."

"Then should we help him? I mean, this could be bad…"

Val shook his head. "We'd have to talk to him first. In order to unseal anything that the Fey might have sealed up, he'd need a lot of things…"

"You mean like people representing each of the Fey's power and genetic roots?" Lina interrupted. The two dragons stared at her. "He mentioned something like that."

Val nodded. "Yes…. That's what would be needed."

They exchanged glances. "We should have a chat with him." Lina said standing up. "If he's well enough to talk that is…."

They all followed her lead and headed upstairs, and then entered the room. His progress hadn't improved, he was still flushed and hot, though not tossing fretfully anymore. Sweat was still beaded on his forehead, and his breathing labored. Lina walked over to him and shook him lightly. "Xelloss… oi, wake up." His eyes opened slightly, but weren't focused on her. "Hey, can you understand me?" She waved a hand in front of his face. He blinked and nodded slightly. She nodded in reply. "You know what's wrong with you? We can't heal you."

He looked slightly delirious, and Val stepped forward to examine him. He put a hand on his forehead and concentrated, then frowned and stared down at him. "This is odd….." He said quietly.

Filia joined him with a worried look. "What is it dear?"

He shook his head. "I've never seen anything like this, I believe it's a biological breakdown of his body…."

Everyone's eyes widened in surprise. "What does that mean?" Lina said slowly.

"It means…" Filia said quietly. "He'll die in a few days…. His body is returning to it's natural state…. While he was Mazoku, age didn't matter. However, now that he's human, all those years are catching up to him quickly." She shook her head. "Nothing we can do, it's natural, so can't be 'healed'."

They fell silent and didn't speak for a long time. Now, it wasn't that they really particularly cared for Xelloss, but just the fact that they were faced with a situation that they couldn't do anything for, was bothering them. Finally, there was a soft groan from Xelloss' bedside, and they glanced to see his hand reach up and grab whoever's hand was closest, which happened to be Lina. He had something in his hand which he pressed into her palm, before his hand fell limply back to the bed.

Lina opened her palm, to see that the object he'd pushed into her hand was a small pendant on a silver chain. It was shaped into a sword, with a stone in the center that glowed with some odd light to it….. then around the hilt was twisted a dragon and a demon….. She glanced down at him. "What is this?'

His eyes slid shut and he spoke in a halting voice. "Hold it… up to the moon…"

They glanced at each other. "But it's daylight…." Gourry stated obviously.

"Doesn't…. matter…"

Lina shrugged, and walked over to the window, and held it up to the moon, which was hanging in the sky. Almost immediately, Amelia gasped. "Look!" Everyone glanced to see that she was pointing at the floor where an image was being projected… Filia and Val knelt down next to Zelgadis, and began examining it closely…

Then Val gave a low whistle. "I'll be…."

"What?" Lina asked from the window, squinting at the ground. "It looks like a map of some sort…"

"Yes… It is." He answered, his finger running over the lines on the floorboard. "But not just any map.."

"This is the five points of power in the world…" Filia murmured pointing at certain places. "Here are the five power points, where power is channeled of each polar direction…. They were remnants of the creation by the Lord of Nightmares apparently…." She shook her head. "This map connects all five into an intricate pattern, and here…" She pointed to the center of the map. "Is where it all converges…." She glanced up. "But what is this for?"

Val squinted down at it, then nodded. "I think this is the sealed power….. this is the position that the spell must be cast…." He pointed at the center where the lines converged. "Probably to restore balance to whatever it is…."

"So I guess the mode of action is…. Do we pursue this course of action, or do we forget about it?"

"We don't do anything." Zel said firmly standing up. "This is probably an act of his to gain power or something, if we let him free it, no telling what he'll do."

"But.." Lina said as she lowered her arm and rubbed it from being sore. "If we don't, then we'll probably never know what's sealed there….. He's probably the only one who knows the spell, which is why the others want him dead." She walked over to Xelloss and leaned over him. "Is that right?" He nodded faintly in reply. "So…" She turned around. "We do have a choice to make…."

They all nodded. "If we help you Xelloss…" Val said slowly walking over to him. "Will the results endanger us or anyone else? What exactly will happen?"

He looked strained, but he answered slowly through his fever. "Won't endanger anyone…. Only me…" He took a breath. "If I die before I can unseal it….. it will be lost forever…"

"What 'it'?"

"….the power of the Fey."

"And you'll be the one getting this power, right?" His voice sounded tart.

"Hai…"

"So what if one of us decided to get it?"

"Not possible…"

"Why?"

Xelloss didn't answer, which resulted in Val grabbing him by the shirt and lifting him clear out of the bed. "You ain't getting our help unless you answer every question, got it?" His golden eyes burned into the man in his grip. Amelia and Filia were immediately by the bedside, trying to get Val to let the ex-mazoku go, but his strength surpassed them both, added to his height, made him unable to waver. He kept Xelloss up all the way, his body dangling in mid air in his grip, face still pale and contorted in feverish pain. "Val stop this!" Filia said angrily. "He's sick!"

Val scowled and shook him hard, like a limp rag doll, then threw him against the nearest wall. Xelloss hit with a hard thump, and fell in a crumbled heap on the floor, weakly trying to get back up again, but failing. Filia stepped in front of him, between the advancing Val and held her arms out, her expression angry. "Stop it now." She said firmly. "You have no excuse to injure the weak." She said firmly. "It doesn't matter who they are, I won't allow it."

Val kept his gaze level with her, then turned away with a snort. Filia lowered her arms and sighed then glanced back at Xelloss who was lying still not moving. Lina and Amelia were bent down next to him, and Amelia shook her head. "He's out cold…." She glanced up. "He's getting worse…. What should we do?"

Lina glanced up at Gourry and Zelgadis, and then to Filia. "Well, what's your recommendation? Should we help him, or should we not?"

Filia looked deep in thought for a while, then sighed. "As much as I don't want to do so, I think helping him would be the best option….. I think there's more to this whole thing than we think, and if the mazoku lords want him out of the way, then the power must be something that will threaten their well being…."

Lina nodded. "Right then…" She was interrupted however, by Val running to the window, and Zelgadis drawing his sword suddenly. "What…?" She looked up puzzled at them.

"Mazoku…." Hissed Val from the window.

Zel was frowning. "Powerful ones…. They've found us."

"Oh, just great…" Lina groaned. "Ok, fine let's beat it out of here then."

"But how?" Amelia asked worriedly.

Filia went up to Val and eyed the few mazoku that were down on the ground, looking up at them, obviously waiting for something. "We need a distraction for those creeps…."

"I'll keep their attention." Val said in a low voice. "You get them out of here."

Filia nodded and gestured to the group. "Come on…" And she walked out of the room, up the hall towards the stairs that led to the roof. Once the group was on the roof, she nodded. "Ok, just grab on." And quicker than they could blink, her form was shifting in a bright golden light that emerged into a huge golden dragon. They stared up at her, but she turned her head with warning eyes, and they quickly scrambled up onto her back. Gourry had Xelloss on his back, and once they'd all gotten on and grabbed handholds, Filia leapt into the air quicker than they could catch their breath.


	7. Chapter 7

**The Fey**

**Chapter 7: Dreams of the Past, Memories of Pain, Images of Death**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>"Ittee..." Lina rubbed her bottom as they stood in the small cave that they'd managed to find shelter in. They had a bright fire burning as the rain poured down outside, sending a strong chill into the cave that bit into the bone. Xelloss lay under some blankets, his face pale and drawn, not moving at all. He hadn't woken since he'd been thrown against the wall, which was beginning to worry them. Amelia sat next to him, watching him with a worried look, as Lina wrung her cloak out by the fire.<p>

They'd gotten away easily enough, Val had provided a very good distraction in his true form as he'd battled the mazoku, though he'd sustained a few injuries. However, that had been taken care of, and he lay next to Filia in the darkness, both sound asleep in each others arms. Lina wondered about them as she sat down by the fire and watched their sleeping forms. A black and a gold dragon... She'd never thought that she'd see a pair like that... She shook her head and lay down on the ground next to Gourry, and he put a hand around her shoulders as she leaned against him. What a day...

Zelgadis was standing watch at the entrance of the cave, watching the rain endlessly pour down. They'd managed to make it all the way to the area where they needed to be for the spell... However with Xelloss not waking up, they might have to wait, or it might be a wasted effort.

The flickering flames eventually died down as everyone was asleep, sound in their own dreams... and one sorceress twitched slightly in her sleep as dreams overtook her...

It was a beautiful day... the sun was shining bright on the ground,  
>the flowers were open in full bloom, and the smell of the air was sweet as a gentle breeze brushed the tree's blossoms gently to the ground.<br>Lina stood beneath a cherry tree, looking around at a spectacular city... It was all built in the trees, and there were many many different kinds of people everywhere around the lake that lay spread out beneath them like a glistening mirror. On the lawn, were people like she'd never seen before... She walked down and milled among them,  
>glancing at their strange shapes. Some had wings, some had tails, some were chimeras, or crossbreeds of strange creatures... But though each bore a strange difference to the next, there was one thing in common with them all... They all were looking pleasant and happy to be where they were.<p>

She milled closer to the trees where the buildings were, and caught the snippets of a conversation from behind a grove of trees, and paused to listen.

"Are you going to evacuate sire?" Came a soft mellow voice that somehow sounded familiar to Lina.

"No... no we can't do that." Answered an older rougher voice.

"But if we don't..."

"This is our home. We can't leave it Mei'rai. You know that."

"Yes sire, but if we don't, they'll come here..."

"No, our troops will hold."

"Yes sire, but what if..."

"NO! No what if's! Our troops will hold, is that understood?"

A rustling of silk. "Yes sire..."

"You will not breathe a word of this to anyone Mei'rai."

"...hai..."

"I have your word on this?"

"Yes sir..."

Silence. Lina thought that they had left, but then they started again.  
>"Mei'rai...?"<p>

"Hai sire?"

More silence. "Between you and me..." There was a rustling of silk followed by the clinking of a chain. "I want you to have this."

A gasp. "Th-this...? But...But sire!"

"Nothing said. I fear that I shall not live to see the end of this war,  
>and just in case that is the truth, you are the successor. You will protect this with your life."<p>

"Yes sire!" Came the dedicated reply. "I swear on my life."

"Good boy..." Sigh. "You will become a very skilled ruler... You have the gift of patience and sight..." Chuckle. "I suppose something good comes from being what you are."

Silence. "Yes sire..."

"Mei'rai... One more thing."

"Yes sire?"

"I pray things will work out... but if they don't..."

"Yes sire, I know what to do."

"Good..." More silence. "Very well, dismissed."

"May fortune go with you sire."

FLASH

Lina blinked as she found herself standing on a bloodstained battlefield, littered with bodies of many. On a hill, framed by bloody flickering flames, the outlines of several individuals could be seen,  
>and she could barely make out their words as she watched events unfold.<br>One tall individual had a large sword pointed at a figure on it's knees... The figure had wings upon it's back, and was bound tightly,  
>and flanked by some other outlines. The man with the sword lowered it directly towards the individual's neck, but then someone came up and put a hand on his arm. "Wait. He can be of use to us."<p>

"Eh?" The man with the sword turned. "This rat?"

"He is their heir."

The man with the sword turned and seemed to appraise the individual.  
>"Cursed mazoku half breed... The heir?"<p>

"That's right, Hellmaster-sama wishes to see him first, if you kill him,  
>he won't be happy."<p>

"Feh, that little brat doesn't scare me." The sword came back up.

"Oh? Perhaps you'd like your life extinguished in his hands then?"

"Feh.." The sword lowered. "Very well..." But the man spat on the prisoner and kicked him hard in the ribs, causing the man to go down in pain. "But he most likely has something spectacular planed for you little bastard."

FLASH

The outline of a huge magic circle, glowing brightly in the light and shining so brightly that it illuminated the surrounding area. Lina shielded her eyes, but watched wordlessly as she was able to distinguish figures below her. One in the very center was bound by chains and didn't seem to be having a good time... Then surrounding him were individuals placed at certain points in the magic circle...They began reciting,  
>and the land erupted in brilliant colors and blinded her...<p> 


	8. Chapter 8

**The Fey**

**Chapter 8: Unsealing, Undoing, Unveiling**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>She sat up with a start of alarm. Everything was silent around her, the fire dead, and most everyone sound asleep. The storm had stopped dumping, though low thunder rumbled in the sky threateningly. The dream was still fresh on her mind, and as vivid as reality... She looked around, and saw that Xelloss' eyes were open, much to her astonishment.<br>She crawled over to kneel beside him and leaned over to look at him.  
>"Hey... you ok?" She asked quietly.<p>

He looked a bit harried, and met her gaze with a glazed look. "She's coming..."

Lina blinked. "Who?"

His eyes seemed to be unfocused. "Must hurry... do the spell..."

She frowned, then suddenly, she felt it too... a low dangerous feeling... a mazoku... Her senses took over, and she dashed to the opening, past the sleeping Zelgadis, to see a cloud of dust on the horizon as an army seemed to be marching forward. Instantly, she leapt back inside and began shaking awake the others. "Come on, come on, we gotta either do this, or go!"

Instantly, the others were up and scurrying around. Lina knelt next to Filia. "Can we do this? Or should we get the hell out of here?"

She frowned and glanced at the approaching army. "We can't complete the spell he wants to do without a mazoku... But if we could wait until one of them comes close enough, we might be able to pull it off..." She glanced at Val, and he nodded. "We can make the circle in time."

Lina nodded. "Let's do it then!"

Filia and Val ran outside and began working on the circle, and the others began to prepare their stuff. Gourry lifted Xelloss up and helped him stand, but he was so weak he couldn't hold himself up, so he walked with him to the entrance... All they could do now was wait.

The army approached faster and faster, as they watched Filia and Val hurriedly scratching the runes and characters in the sand. Filia looked up and motioned. "Put him in the very center." She pointed.

Gourry moved with Xelloss to the center of the circle, taking care not to step on the newly scratched runes. He stood in the center holding him up, but Xelloss shook his head. "You must... Not be here for the spell..."

Gourry nodded. "Ok, you gonna be ok by yourself?" Xelloss nodded, and Gourry gently helped him sit down in the circle, then he made his way back to the others.

They could now see who exactly was approaching... An army of wolves... in the lead was the largest wolf they'd ever seen in their lifetime... and even from the far off distance, they could see it's eyes burning brightly. Lina paced anxiously back and forth, until Val motioned to her. "You can move into position now." He pointed out where each had to stand. Lina walked to the portion of the circle for black magic. Amelia went to the white magic. Zelgadis stood in the earth Shamanist magic. Val had finished his section, and waited there while Filia finished the final circle. The mazoku sector... All they had to do now was wait... wait for the right moment...

Xelloss was kneeling in the center, with one hand grasped to something dangling from his neck... Lina couldn't see what it was, but she had a feeling it was the pendant that she'd seen before, the one with the map.

Slowly... They approached... the rain wasn't coming yet, but lighting flickered across the sky like rabid streaks of energy that had no limits. Thunder rolled across the heavy clouds, and echoed in the valley that was barren of life. The world halted for the passage of time...

And then it hit...

Like a flash of lightning, the wolves came forward as one, and leapt like rabid fiends on the individuals before them. They all threw up their own shields to keep them off, Gourry standing on the side fought with his sword like a maniac with a blade. However, the one person unprotected in the very center, was Xelloss. He watched with almost an expecting glance as one wolf lunged at him. He raised a hand and the wolf's jaws closed around his arm with a sickening crunch, and he fell backwards, but was able to remain in the circle. He struggled to push it from him, as it sunk it's razor sharp teeth deeper into his arm, but being weak as he was, he couldn't manage it, and cringed as the wolf let go, and reached for his jugular...

Lina saw everything happen from the side of her vision, and she turned about, screaming out for the wolf to stop... but it was gone. The wolf had vanished in a blaze of flame, and standing there before Xelloss was a tall slender lady... the Beastmaster herself.

Xelloss looked up, hatred and fear mixed with pain written on his face,  
>as he gazed up at her, expecting somewhere inside of himself for it all to end...<p>

However...

The Beastmaster raised his chin, stared down at him from her position,  
>then turned about on her high spikes, and walked straight into the circle drawn for mazoku. The others stared at her, but her gaze was focused on Xelloss, who was looking about ready to pass out from loss of blood and from his fever, but he managed to pull himself upright,<br>realizing quicker than the others did, that this was an opportunity.

His voice started, low at first and soft, but it rose to a louder volume as he began to recite in runes, the verses of the spells. The outer rings of the circle lit up with bright and fierce blue light, spinning around towards the inner ring with a fire that was un-harnessed. When the fire reached the outer rings, it encircled each person inside, and the power crackled around them. The first one was Amelia's, the white power encircling her, then rushing through the runes to join the final circle around Xelloss. Then Zelgadis' green color representing earth Shamanistic magic... then Lina's representing the power drawn from Shabrnigudo, therefore ruby red power... Then the light reached Val who stood firmly in his circle with an annoyed look on his face. The fierce pale golden light representing the Ryuzoku rushed towards the center... and then the final ring came... the black magic that encircled the Mazoku...All colors now ran in combination surrounding Xelloss who stood in the center of the entire thing, and he straightened up slowly, ignoring the flowing blood from his arm, and raised his hands to the sky, shouting the final incantations of the spell...

It was safe to say that the world exploded.

The colors of the magic swirled around the individuals, then it was gone as all the power raced to the center where it converged around Xelloss.  
>Then in one brilliant explosion, it all combined and formed a pillar of light around him, encircling, and encompassing him into it's bright depths, and forcing those watching to shield their eyes from the fierceness of it all.<p>

As their eyes adjusted to the luminosity, they could just vaguely make out a figure inside of the light. Then, almost as abruptly as it began,  
>the light began to converge and assimilate into Xelloss' form, creating a glowing outline of himself, nothing distinct. Then, there was an explosion of nebulous preparations that shot out like a shockwave from him, blinding them all momentarily, and knocking them to their feet instantly, sending them a good five feet backwards in the process...<p>

By the time they'd recovered and sat up dazed, the entire process was over... the spell had dissipated, leaving a burned scorched area in it's wake, and a crumpled form in the center of the circle...

Of course, it was recognizing the form lying there that was the shocking part.


	9. Chapter 9

**The Fey**

**Chapter 9: First, Pure, and Golden**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>Lina's gaze however shot back to the Beastmaster, realizing that their enemy was still present, but her eyes watched the woman carefully, not making a move. The Beastmaster stood there with her arms crossed,<br>watching the slightly smoking form in the center. Lina frowned as the Beastmaster turned to go. "Why?" The mazoku stopped to glance back at her. "Why did you help us?"

She didn't answer for a long time, watching silently as all the others stood up slowly, their eyes locked on her warily. Then, a quiet smile flicked across her face. "Because..." She turned to go, only taking time to glance back at them. "It's wrong." And with that, she and her army vanished instantly...leaving no trace behind.

They stood there rather stunned still, then turned their attention back to Xelloss, who was beginning to move slightly...What they saw however, shocked them to no means.

Xelloss lay on the ground, still smoking slightly from the power that had been channeled into one spot... but they could clearly see that he had undergone severe changes... His skin had darkened to a deep copper bronze color, smooth and golden like dark liquid sunshine...  
>Claw-like hands lay limply on the ground as the rain began to pour down relentlessly. His height and build had dramatically changed, he was much taller, but slenderly built with tight packed muscles that they could tell would do a lot of damage, though appear harmless. His hair hung limply wet across his face and remained the same, but they could see small sharply pointed ears poking out from beneath it. However, the largest thing that drew their attention, was the huge midnight black pair of feathered wings that hung limply from his back... they were darker than blackest pitch, and seemed to suck all the light into them...<p>

The group stood in the pouring rain, taking in the information before them silently, still in some shock before they seemed to snap out of it.  
>Lina gestured to Gourry. "Hey, let's get back inside..." He nodded, and picked Xelloss up carefully, straining slightly under his increased weight, and they retreated back inside the cave. Gourry lay him back down, and Amelia crouched by his shoulder, and began to heal the large wound there.<p>

They sat around a new fire, wringing their cloaks out, and then glanced over at Xelloss, still unconscious, wondering what exactly to do, and what to think of the situation.

"Damn... So, is that what the Fey looked like?" Lina said glancing at his still form. "Seems... Like some sort of crossbreed."

"They were." Said Filia simply. "The way I understood it, the Fey were just a unity of those crossbreeds in the world. You didn't have to be born of the Fey, you just had to be a crossbreed, and you were welcomed to join the Fey." Her gaze fell to Zelgadis. "You would be welcome for example, being part human and part demon."

He blinked. "But..."

"It doesn't matter if you weren't born that way, it's the present that matters to them." She said nodding at him. "As I remember, there were three categories of Fey." She glanced at Val with a slight frown. "What were they?"

He nodded. "Yeah, there were three. There were the Free breed, which were basically anyone containing multi parts of other races." He nodded at Zel. "You would be considered that part." Zel nodded in response.  
>"Then there were the Pure breeds. Those who were second generation Fey,<br>born from Fey parents. Then there were the rarest, the Golden breed.  
>They were complete blends of all three races in the world, mazoku,<br>human, and Ryuzoku."

They blinked. "Whoa... and they were rare huh?" Gourry asked, glancing over at Xelloss. "He's one of them, right? I mean, he looks like he could be."

They glanced over at him. It was true... While he had black dragon wings and a human body, he also had demon characteristics like the pointed ears, claws, and the dark coloring. "Yeah..." Val said grudgingly. "Looks like he's a Golden breed."

Lina scratched her head slightly. "Why then is he the only survivor of his kind?" As she said that though, the answer semi came to her.  
>Memories of the incident she'd dreamt of... She glanced at him. "They must have tortured him to no ends..."<p>

As if to respond to her words, he stirred slightly, and all eyes went to him. His eyes slowly opened as he lay down, bright slitted golden irises that looked slightly disoriented, but then focused on the others as he slowly sat up. He still looked a bit shaken up, but much better than he had before. "How you feeling?" Amelia asked first, looking at him with concern. "Are you better?"

His eyes slid across all of them, seeing no hostility besides the usual from Zelgadis, and he slowly sat up and rubbed his arm, seeing it was healed. "Yes... Thank you."

They eyed him strangely. He was very different in personality than they were used to, though Lina supposed that he didn't have to act like a mazoku anymore. "So... This is your final secret then?" She threw a joking grin at him. "No more 'sore wa himitsu's' any more?"

That brought a smile from him, revealing small perfect white fangs.  
>"Well...for now anyway." He smiled at her, looking more like his usual self with his eyes closed. "You found out my biggest one Lina-san."<p>

The others smiled in response, some of the tension broken. Amelia crawled next to him and stared at his wings with wide eyes. "Wow..."  
>She looked rather uncertainly at him. "Do... do you..."<p>

He smiled slightly and shook his head. "Go ahead."

She reached out and touched the feathers and looked at them, with wide eyes of wonder. "Sugoi..." She whispered, which only made everyone laugh, and her blush and pull back again quickly.

"I'll bet you get that a lot, eh Xelloss?" Lina joked.

Xelloss smirked slightly and nodded. "Well, I used to..." His smile faded and his eyes grew distant.

There was slight silence, then suddenly Filia put a hand on his shoulder and looked sad. "I know how you feel..." She lowered her head. "We were part of the resistance."

His head turned to them looking slightly surprised. "You were?" A smile lit his face. "I see..." He leaned forward and kissed her gently on the cheek. "Thank you."

She turned bright red, and blinked rapidly, not sure how to react, and Val looked about ready to explode. However, Xelloss held out a hand with a gaze that showed Val that he meant no ill, and the black dragon slowly took it and shook.

"Xelloss... One thing." Lina asked quietly. "Why did they not kill you when they..."

His head lowered. "They almost did... But at the last minute they decided they needed something to play with...""His voice sounded bitter.  
>"And what better to have fun with than the crown prince himself..." He sighed and closed his eyes. "It almost would have been better if they had killed me."<p>

Lina stood up angrily. "DON'T SAY THAT!" Which made everyone leap back in surprise, especially Xelloss who stared with a dumbfounded expression . "Wishing you were dead when your race is nearly extinct! You have to survive to maintain it again, how can it continue without a leader!"

He stared at her with wide eyes of surprise, slightly taken aback. "Uh..."

She narrowed her gaze. "You may have lived through hell, but I assure you, being alive and back to normal is worth all that, right?"

He seemed to have recovered, and pondered that for some time, then a small nod. "Yes... You're right of course Lina-san." He smiled slightly. "It will take a lot of work, but I will rebuild our peoples..."

She nodded in approval and leaned back again. "So... what now?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Well..." He looked thoughtful.  
>"First I think I'll start by returning home and rebuilding some of our structures, and finding what I can that's left over..."<p>

The others nodded. "Do you need help?" Filia's hand was on his shoulder.

He looked up at Val, who shrugged in response. "Well, sure if you would like to.."

She smiled. "We would love to help rebuild the Fey empire." She nodded at him. "We were friends with several before the wars."

He smiled in gratitude. "Yosh!" A satisfied look crossed his face at the thought of rebuilding his people's lives. "I appreciate your help..."

Lina came up behind him and slapped him hard on the back, making him nearly choke. "Yeah, count me in. After all, there might be hidden treasure right?"

He sweatdropped but nodded. "Hai..."

Of course at that declaration, Amelia stood up. "I can get Daddy to send some help too!" She posed in her justice pose. "It's the right thing to do! Pursuing the restoration of a nearly lost race! It's the most just thing that can be accomplished."

More sweatdrops among everyone, but no complaints as the help was greatly appreciated. Lina turned her head to look at Zelgadis who was standing silently against the wall. "What about you Zel?"

He didn't respond, but looked away. "I'm still looking for something."

No one spoke for a long time, but then Xelloss broke the silence with his soft words. "I still intend to keep that promise Zelgadis-san."

His gaze went back to meet the Fey's, and he frowned slightly. "Oh? When is that then? When I'm old and gray?"

Xelloss looked hurt. "No... when I have recovered some more."

Zelgadis scrutinized him more, then glanced away. "Fine, I'll come."

"Right!" Lina said with a bright smile. "We'll leave tomorrow then!"


	10. Chapter 10

**The Fey**

**Chapter 10: Conclusions, Results, and Changes**

By nightelfcrawler

_Warnings: Mild language, violence  
><em>

_Okay so... in chatting with an rp partner, we ended up discovering that we had been a part of the same fandoms some 10+ years ago. She ran a website that hosted some of my old fics... which made me drag out some old dvds that I'd saved my webpages on... and lo and behold, I found these old fics hanging around still and decided heck why not bring them back. So here they are, a trip down memory lane! These were written in the late 90's and early 2000's when I went by too many psudonyms to remember. I actually forgot who I was until I physically saw the fics listed and went 'oh crap I remember those!'. Ahh memories.  
><em>

_Be warned... these were my first attempts at writing and are likely riddled with grammar, spelling and other noted errors. I've read through them, blushed furiously that I used to write like this, and decided to put them up anyway as-is with no revisions. So please enjoy, but don't bother correcting or whining, they shall be ignored!_

* * *

><p>"Ahhh! I'm never gonna get used to this!" Gourry whined loudly as he clung tightly to Filia as they rose up into the air. The next day had dawned bright and sunny, and thus everyone's spirits had been revitalized. They had all climbed onto Filia and Val's backs and taken off into the air with bright spirits as they headed back for the hidden valley.<p>

They all felt the rush of adrenaline as they rocketed up into the air,  
>and Lina glanced aside at Xelloss who was clinging beside her. His hair was blown back like the rest of them, showing his pointed ears, and his feathers ruffled strongly in the wind like silk. "Why don't you fly?"<br>She yelled over to him.

He turned towards her smiling. "I wanted to get acclimated first." He winked at her. "Want to go for a spin?"

She grinned in return. "Sure!"

He smiled and then scooped her up into his arms, then stood up and suddenly they were rocketing up away from Val's back into the clouds above. Lina held her breath, practically squealing from the adrenaline rush that she was getting, then they burst out of the small cloud and saw the entire expanse of the land spreading out beneath them, the two dragons and their passengers watching them as he then dove straight down, rocketing faster than the others could watch, right between the two dragons, to then spread his wings open to gently glide forward over the ground. Lina became aware that she was clutching him tightly from fear, and released her hold a bit, having him grin down at her.

"Having fun?"

"Oh yeah.." She answered out of breath. "What a rush..."

He grinned at her and then pumped his powerful wings, which brought them up between the two dragons, to glide peacefully there. The others were watching Lina almost enviously. "Having fun?" Zelgadis commented dryly.

She threw him a look and a sunny grin. "Yes, actually I am. You should try this."

Amelia looked envious. "I want to... Can I Xelloss-san?"

He landed once again on Val's back, keeping perfect balance despite the speed, and he set Lina back down. "Sure you can." He said to Amelia with a smile. "I don't mind."

"Wai!" She practically leapt onto him, startling him, and almost made him fall off. But he regained his balance with a chuckle, then proceeded to take Amelia on a joyride as well.

Lina leaned back with a smile on her face, enjoying the ride. It was smooth, cool, and quite pretty from their positions on top of the two dragons. Though one had to watch their step to make sure they didn't fall off of the end of the dragon... They'd been traveling since the morning, using the fast speed of the two to get rapidly ahead. They would be in the valley by noon the two had commented. So everyone but Gourry seemed to be enjoying the swift ride as they passed over the land they'd walked over before.

Sure enough, by the time noon came, the tall mountains lumbered high into the sky before them. The two dragons paused, knowing the catch to entering the valley, and waited for Xelloss to take off and sweep in front of them. Then in a bright flash of blue light, they were suddenly inside of the valley instead of outside it. They then settled down for a landing on the green grass beside the lake, and once their passengers had dismounted, they shifted to human form.

The group stretched before the lake, enjoying the bright sunlight. In the light, Xelloss looked even more strange than before. He still had that mysterious quality to him, but he looked less evil and simply more intriguing. His wings ruffled lightly in the breeze, but he paid them no heed. Instead, he strode towards the trees and examined the wreckage of what had once been his empire... The others joined him and surveyed the wreckage, then together they began to sort through each tree building, tearing down any wreckage, piling all items found in a stack on the side. They worked all day, in the warm sunlight that made them all discard their cloaks and in some cases, even shirts. It seemed odd to Lina as she lounged on the beach sorting the stack of found items and watching the men, how both Gourry and Val stood out with their bare backs, then there was Xelloss with his dark skin and wings as he helped toss debree down to them.

The day went quickly however, and soon the sun had disappeared, and they had ceased for the day. They lay before the campfire, all exhausted and content with full bellies of some of the most delicious fish they'd tasted in their lives. Most of them were asleep, sprawled on the grass and snoring loudly... but Xelloss lay awake, watching the stars with a content look on his face. He then realized that they were missing one,  
>so he rose and stepped towards the lake, where he could see the form of the chimera standing by the water. He slowly walked up, and stood beside him, and they stood there for some time, silently watching the ripples on the lake. After many moments of silence, Xelloss held up his hand,<br>pointing up at the stars. "Do you know what I was told when I was young?" Zel looked up, not answering, but his actions portraying for the fey to continue. "I was told that each star held one wish in your hands,  
>and if you were to cup your palm like so..." He demonstrated, holding out a cupped fist before Zel. "That in your hand you held a single wish capable of granting anything."<p>

Zel didn't even glance in his palm. "So?"

Xelloss frowned in slight frustration with the chimera's unwillingness to cooperate. "Meaning, that if you held the wish of the star in your hand..." He snatched Zelgadis' hand and forced him to open it, then he put his own inside it. "And if you wished from the bottom of your heart for something to come true, that it would."

Zel tried to yank his wrist away, but Xelloss had superior strength.  
>"Ok... so what's this got to do with anything.." He growled out.<p>

Xelloss sighed and let his hand go, and a small glowing speck remained in Zelgadis' palm. "You figure it out." And he left him be, striding back to the fire.

Zelgadis stood there for some time, staring at the glowing speck with a strange look on his face. Then his face rose to the heavens, and he watched the stars again, before clasping the small speck in his hand,  
>and pressing it to his chest almost as if hugging it to himself...<p>

The morning dawned bright and illuminated the surrounding countryside with brilliant rays of light, and made the birds eager to get their heads out as they chirped good morning. Ordinarily, Xelloss would have been repulsed by this, but now for the first time in a very long time,  
>he was able to fully enjoy it and watch it without feeling pain. He lay on a branch overlooking the lake, one leg dangling down off of a branch,<br>admiring the view.

He heard footsteps, and glanced down to see Lina and Amelia, with a sleepy looking Gourry following them, looking anxiously around, almost as if they were afraid someone would see them. They stopped and glanced up at him. "Uh... Xelloss?" Lina asked hesitantly. "Could we talk to you?"

He slid down and landed in front of them. "Sure, what's wrong?"

They glanced at each other warily... "Well... It's..." Amelia started, but trailed off.

"It's Zel." Lina finished for her. "He's... well... He's human."

Xelloss smiled as he knew it would be a good day.


End file.
